Under The Umbrella
by Unicorns.Bubbles.AWESOMENESS
Summary: Max was definitely not a "people person." She especially did not like those who were the "popular" kind, and all her life, and she's always hated them. Fang Ride just happens to be one of these "cool" guys, and he knows what Max thinks about him. So when Max's stuck in the middle of the street in the pouring rain, who steps in to help her out? Will he change her mind? One-Shot.


Under The Umbrella

Summary: Max was definitely not a "people person." She especially did not like those who were the "popular" kind, and all her life, all she's known is to hate them. Fang Ride just happens to be one of these "cool" guys, and he know what Max and people like her think about people like him. So when Max's stuck in the middle of the street in the pouring rain, who steps in to help her out? Will he change her mind on the "cool" crowd?

* * *

_Under The Umbrella_

Max slammed her locker shut; the noise echoed throughout the hallway. Rolling her brown eyes and sighing, she slowly made her way to her first class. Along the way, she saw her friends, Nudge and Angel, who waved her over.

"What now?" Max grumbled. Max wasn't a "school" person. Especially in the morning.

She wasn't much of a morning person either.

Angel smiled brightly at Max, who just grunted back. Angel rolled her bright blue eyes. "Good morning," she grumbled in annoyance to Max. "Anyways, Gazzy forgot to pick me up yesterday afternoon. He was too busy with his…crowd."

Now this was one situation Max could sympathize with. "Angel, I'm so sorry honey. I would have come and gotten you if you called," Max said empathetically.

Angel shook her head, and bouncy blonde curls springing up and down, back and forth. "It's fine, Max," she chirped, as if it was an issue just to wave off. "He picked me up a little later anyways."

"Angel," Nudge said, catching her attention. "He's your older brother. He should feel the least bit irresponsible for leaving you, right?"

Angel's eyes narrowed and she muttered, "He said sorry and that was about it."

Nudge rolled her chocolate eyes. "Angel, you need to do something about him. Ever since he's been "cool" and all, he's kinda forgotten you, and he should be responsible of you, considering he's two years older than you are! Don't you think that this is kinda that last straw? He's done so much worse before, so why aren't you doing anything, Angel? It's time stand up for yourself! Be a woman!" Nudge yelled fierce fully. She happened to be so loud that kids in the hallway were starting to stare at her.

Max clapped mockingly. "Now, Nudge, if you are done with your brilliant speech, I'd like to say one last thing." She nodded to Angel, to direct her comment to her. "I think, if I were you, I'd stay away from those kinda people altogether," she said coldly, and stalked away ominously.

* * *

Fang walked casually through the hallways, but he knew all eyes were on him.

He sounded cocky whenever he told himself that everyone was watching him, either with hatred or with adoration, but it was true.

With Iggy and Gazzy by his side, he was hard to miss.

Everywhere he went, he'd heard, "Oh, he's so good-looking," or "I wish I could be with him," or from the guys, he'd hear, "Man, we should invite him to that party next week."

As if he would actually go.

Fang wasn't much of a social-gatherer; he stuck to his friends and his friends only. He kept to himself, and yet he still made it to the top of the food-chain.

Behind him, he heard the patter of feet approaching closer and closer, and he turned around. Iggy was jogging up to catch up with him.

Everyone's eyes had also latched on to Iggy; he was the other Casanova of the school.

"Hey man," Iggy said, catching his breath. "What's up?"

Fang shook his head his shaggy hair getting in his eyes. He was looking at everyone who was watching them before he responded. "Nothing much. What's up with you?"

From the corner of his eye, Fang caught Iggy shrugging. Fang raised his eyebrow and whispered, "New girl?"

Iggy shook his head. "No, and _new_? I haven't had a single girlfriend."

"Hm," Fang said. "Doesn't sound like it to everyone else."

"Screw everyone else," Iggy muttered, rolling his bright blue eyes.

Fang cracked a smile before stopping in the hallway next to his locker. A girl slammed her back against the lockers next to his.

"Hey Fang," Lissa Thorne purred.

Fang wanted to slap her slutty face and send her to a decent clothing store. "Hey," he said impassively, unlocking his locker. He avoided all eye-contact whatsoever to prevent from her getting the wrong idea.

"How are you?" Lissa asked, gliding her finger down Fang's shoulder and arm. Fang swatted it away before he grabbed a binder and walked off, without even bothering to respond to her.

As he walked down the hallway, he heard a shrill, "Ohmygosh! I can't believe he just did that!"

That just about made his day.

* * *

By the end of the day, Max was just about done. She was ready to collapse.

From the morning, she had a feeling that it was going to be a bad day, and, well, it was.

She was stuck with a bunch of people she didn't like on a group project, she spilled milk on herself at lunch, and Angel still didn't get a ride home even after her brother Gazzy said he'd take her home.

Max would have taken her home if it were not that her car was in the shop…because she had managed to crash it this morning.

She sighed and walked out of the school, clutching her binders to her chest. She stood patiently for about five minutes before venturing out to walk home. Her parents were working, and her older brother, Ari, didn't even live with her family anymore.

Before she knew it, it started raining. It wasn't too bad, just a light, manageable drizzle. Until a couple of minutes later, when it started pouring.

Max groaned loudly, balancing her binders on her head to prevent from getting so wet. It didn't work out to well.

She reached in her shoulder-bag, which was sopping wet, to pull out her cell phone, only to find that it was dead. She wanted to throw it at the pavement in frustration, but she didn't because then she wouldn't have gotten a new one if it had broken.

She wasn't far from the school, and she had considered walking back, but she was closer to her house now than the school. She sighed and kept walking.

Someone came up behind her and tapped her shoulder. She couldn't make out who it was as rain filled her eyes and for the fact that the person was wearing a hood.

"Would it hurt to have some common sense?" she heard a deep, husky voice say. The guy pulled out an umbrella and handed it to her.

Max huffed and turned around and kept walking.

"Take the umbrella," the stranger insisted.

Max's eyebrows scrunched together. "I don't know you, and this is really weird," she grumbled. "Why should I take your umbrella?"

"You do know me, Max," the person said, "you just don't realize it yet. And plus, it's pouring outside, you're walking, and you're _refusing _an umbrella?"

"This is really weird," Max repeated.

The stranger shrugged. "You know me, though. I promise you know me."

"Tell me who you are."

The stranger shook his head. "Take the umbrella."

She reluctantly took it. "Why can't you tell me?" she ground out, agitated with the nice stranger.

"Because then you'd reject the umbrella and hate me even more."

* * *

Fang had ended up needing a nice, long walk, so he walked home.

In the middle of his walk, it started raining, which he'd predicted. Luckily for him, he was wearing a rain jacket and had brought an umbrella.

There was someone walking in front of him, who obviously wasn't prepared. He jogged up to them to hand them the umbrella, before he realized it was Max Martinez.

The same Max that went to his school. The same Max who hated him and his "crowd." The same Max that needed help right now.

Fang didn't know what her problem was, but he wanted to get to know her. She was…peculiar, to say the least, and she seemed to be more decent that the rest of the girls at their school.

He'd known her since kindergarten, and yet he still didn't want to say anything to her, because from the very start, she hated him. She hated him, his crowd, and all people like them.

It's because someone had hurt her, and no doubt, it was somebody who claimed to be "cool."

He sighed and flipped his wet hair to the side, but made sure it covered his face enough to hide his identity. He pulled the hood over his head and jogged up to her, and brought out the umbrella.

"Would it hurt to have some common sense?" he asked as he approached her.

Max had huffed loudly and turned and kept walking.

"Take the umbrella," Fang urged, almost tempted to poke her with it.

Max looked like she wanted to interrogate him. "I don't know you, and this is really weird," she grumbled under her breath. "Why should I take your umbrella?"

"You do know me, Max," Fang said convincingly, "you just don't realize it yet. And plus, it's pouring outside, you're walking, and you're _refusing _an umbrella?"

"This is really weird," Max had repeated.

Fang shrugged. "You know me, though. I promise you know me."

"Tell me who you are," Max insisted. She looked almost impatient, but she also looked like she really just wanted to snatch the umbrella out of his hands and run home.

Fang shook his head. "Take the umbrella." It was bad enough she hated him already, there was no reason to offer the umbrella, tell her who he is, and have her reject all contact with him and walk off.

She reluctantly snatched it out of his hands. "Why can't you tell me?" she ground out, agitated with the nice stranger.

"Because then you'd reject the umbrella and hate me even more."

Max grumbled something incoherent under her breath, something Fang couldn't make out, and opened the umbrella up. Then she walked off, but not before calling out a, "Thanks!"

Fang smiled to himself. He should've told her who he was. Then, maybe they would have had a better relationship.

But that's not the way Max thought.

And it wasn't long before she figured out who gave her the umbrella.

* * *

Max grinned as she walked into her house in one piece.

"Thank you, stranger," she said to herself, shaking the umbrella dry before bringing it in.

She set her wet binders down on the counter and put her shoulder-bag on the kitchen floor. She emptied the contents of everything, and wiped down the binders, and set the bag next to the window, hoping it'll dry faster if the sun ever came out.

She made sure her phone was wiped down before she carefully and cautiously plugged it into the charger. She sighed in relief when nothing shocked her.

She ran upstairs to change into a different pair of clothes, comfy ones, preferably.

It wasn't long before she came back down. She grabbed the umbrella and shook it outside on the porch one last time, getting most of the rain off to it.

She wiped it down so she could give back to the person tomorrow, if she could ever find him.

She was about to tie it together, when something caught her eye.

Her eyes traveled down to the hook at the bottom, where you could hold the umbrella, where there was a silver dog tag.

There were initials printed on it.

_F. R._

_ Fang Ride._

* * *

The next morning, Fang was sure Max knew it was him who gave her the umbrella. His initials were at the bottom of it.

He sighed loudly as he got out of his car and headed into the school.

As soon as he walked in, he saw Max, standing right in front of his locker, her arms crossed over her chest and her hands clutching the umbrella. She looked almost furious as she stood there idly, her hip cocked to one side.

As Fang approached her, she moved over slightly, so he could get to his locker.

"Good morning," she said stiffly to him, resting her shoulder against the locker.

Iggy came bounding down the hall. "Hey, Fang, guess what!" and then stopped short, before saying, "Sorry…" and walking away.

Fang smirked, and turned to Max. "Mornin'."

Max sighed and muttered something under her breath.

"What was that?"

Her eyebrows scrunched together and her eyes narrowed. Fang thought that was cute.

"Nothing," she grumbled, looking down. "Anyways, here's your umbrella," she practically spat at him, thrusting the black umbrella at him. "Thanks."

Fang took it from her and stuffed it in his locker.

"You're welcome," he said, shutting his locker.

Max stood there, as if expecting more.

"You need something, Max?" Fang said, smirking.

Max drew in a deep breath, probably to prevent herself from ripping his head off, before saying, "Thanks again," and walking off to join her friends.

* * *

"What were you doing over there with Fang, Max?" Nudge asked quietly, as if it was a secret that was never supposed to told out loud.

Max rolled her eyes. "Yesterday, I had to walk home," she muttered. "It started raining, and he gave me his umbrella."

"Aw, that's nice," Angel said, smiling.

Max just rolled her eyes again and shook her head. "He didn't tell me it was him though. I couldn't see him, and the only way I found out was for the fact there were initials at the bottom of the umbrella."

"That's still sweet," Nudge cooed.

Max ignored that last comment and walked to her locker as Nudge and Angle followed while chatting about something.

She opened her locker and grabbed some binders out, and shoved her sack lunch in. Fang appeared next to her.

Max jumped as she closed her locker only to find him standing there. She turned around to Nudge and Angel, who were supposed to be behind her, but they were gone.

"Great," she mumbled. She pretended to ignore Fang and stalked off, but he caught her arm.

Max looked up at him. "What, Fang?" she asked.

He had pulled her so close against him that they were almost nose-to-nose. She wanted to pull away from him, but she found that she couldn't.

"You looked like you needed to say something to me earlier, Max," he said suavely.

Max shook her head and clutched her binders even closer to her chest. "Nope. I said what I needed to, which was, thanks."

"Admit it," Fang said. "There was something else you wanted to say."

"Nope," she said, shaking her head again. When Fang stared her down, she looked down.

Fang smirked. "Was it something along the lines of…maybe I'm not so bad?"

Max laughed out loud, and the smirk was immediately wiped off of Fang's face. "No, Fang," she said. "You've got it all wrong. I said thanks, and that's that."

She walked off, but it found it very hard to do so.

Fang had been right.

Maybe he's not so bad after all.

* * *

Fang tried to crack her, but he couldn't. He knew there was something more to it though. So when he caught her walking home again, he drove his car up to her and rolled down the window.

"Need a ride, Martinez?" Fang called out from the driver's seat.

"Not from you," she shot back, and kept walking.

Fang sighed. "Come on, Max."

Max shook her head stubbornly.

"I heard it's going to rain today."

Max stopped suddenly. "No it's not," she ground out through her clenched teeth. "It's perfectly sunny."

It wasn't. Clouds were forming over, and before they knew it, it started thundering.

"Get in the car, Max," Fang said.

Max sighed and glared at Fang, and opened the door to the passenger seat.

"Glad you could make it," Fang said, smirking, and driving away as soon as Max closed the door.

Max crossed her arms over her chest and looked out the window without saying a word. In a couple of minutes, it had started raining.

Max checked the time, and then glanced out on the road. "Do you know where you're going?" Max said harshly, her voice hoarse from not speaking for a while.

Fang smiled. "No," he said, before asking, "Could I treat you to some Starbucks?"

Max was about to shake her head, but then caught the look on Fang's face. He looked genuinely nice, as if he actually _wanted _to spend time with her.

She cocked her head to the side, before mumbling a quick, "Sure."

Max could tell Fang's whole face brightened up. "Great," he said, and made a sharp right turn.

It didn't take long to get to Starbucks, and the both of them ran in, since it was still raining.

As soon as they'd found a table to share, Fang asked, "What would you like?"

Max shrugged. "I'll just take a regular coffee, I guess."

Fang nodded and went an ordered, as Max sat down and reserved their table. It wasn't long before he came back with two coffees in his hand.

"How much was it?" Max asked, pulling out her purse from her (still slightly damp) shoulder-bag.

Fang smiled and shook his head. "It's perfectly fine."

Max rolled her eyes, and shoved her purse back into her bag, and took a sip of her coffee. "Thanks," she said. "For the ride and the coffee."

"No problem."

Max sighed. "Listen, Fang…" she said slowly, trailing off. "About this morning….you were right. That was exactly what I was thinking."

If Fang was taken aback, he sure had a good way of concealing it. "Really?" he asked, a hint of amusement apparent in his voice.

Max smiled and leaned back in her chair. "Yeah."

Fang nodded understandingly. Then, he opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short. Then he opened it again, this time saying, "You're different, Max."

Her eyes looked up to meet Fang's. "Thanks?"

Fang smirked. He leaned back in his chair and jokingly said, "Well, not necessarily the good kind…"

Her eyebrows rose as she defensively said, "Hey!"

Fang laughed, and smiled, and Max smiled back. "I'm just kidding," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Max rolled her eyes. "That's what they all say," she said, smiling.

"I think I'd like to get to know you more, Max," Fang said.

She nodded in response. "I think I'd like that too."

* * *

So in school, Max and Fang started spending a lot more time in the hallways together, walking each other from class to class. Every day after school, they made it a routine to go to Starbucks and get each other coffee.

It was safe to say that Max liked Fang. A _lot _more than a friend.

She wasn't sure if he liked her back.

Every morning though, she was much happier. She walked into school smiling. "Hey Nudge! Hey Angel!" Max said, as soon as she saw them.

"What happened to you?" Nudge asked. "Did you just stay up all night or something, because last time I checked, you weren't quite of a morning person…"

Angel swatted Nudge's arm and shot her a look. "Hey Max!" she responded happily. "So I see you've been spending time with Fang…" she said, motioning for Max to continue.

Max sighed. "I think…that he's not so bad. That maybe I might like him?"

Nudge and Angel squealed, but Angel stopped short and her face fell.

"What's wrong?" Max asked.

Angel looked at Max urgently. "Max, I'm so sorry…"

Max turned around only to see Fang backed up against her locker and locking lips with Lissa Thorne.

A lump formed in her throat, but instead of crying, she went up to them and yelled, "Excuse me! You're in front of my locker!"

They pulled apart and Fang looked at Max. She glared at him as she grabbed her stuff and slammed it shut.

"Max, wait!" Fang called after her.

Lissa cackled. "She's not worth it, Fangy."

"Yes she is," Max heard Fang grumble. "Max, wait! Let me explain!"

Max whipped around, fury blazing in her eyes, her hair flying around. Her eyes narrowed as she set a glare directed to Fang. "I thought you were different, Fang. Guess I thought wrong, huh? I guess I thought you were nice a couple of months ago because you lent me your umbrella. I thought you were nice when we went to Starbucks. Now, I think you're just a scumbag. Thanks, Fang, for the umbrella." She turned back around and started to walk away.

"Don't go, Max. Let me explain!" he called out after her.

Max rolled her eyes and stood for a moment by her classroom door. "It's too bad I'm already gone, Fang," she called back out after him.

After school, Max decided to walk home, considering Nudge picked her up this morning. Of course, there was no sign of it going to rain, which it did, just as Max got outside.

She was almost home when she heard someone jogging up to her.

She squinted to make out who it was, but she could already figure it out.

"Would it hurt to have some common sense?" Fang asked as he approached her. His hood was pulled over his head just like the day he lent her his umbrella.

Just like then, he pulled out the umbrella. "Take it."

And just like before, Max huffed and walked away, but not before saying, "No."

"Max, let me explain," Fang said desperately, opening the umbrella up and holding it above Max's head. "Please."

Max checked the time on her phone. "You have about 20 seconds before I act like I don't care," she said sternly.

"You know how Lissa is, Max," Fang said, as if that was supposed to be enough. "She threw herself on me," he said. "I promise, I wasn't kissing her back or anything. I swear, I don't even like her."

Max rolled her eyes and sighed. "I knew this would a waste of my time," she said, and walked away.

"At least take the umbrella, Max," Fang called out to her.

She shook her head, her wet hair sticking to her neck and face. "No, Fang," she said. "You tried to prove yourself, which didn't work. You say you're nice, but you're not. I don't need your umbrella."

"You want me to prove myself?" Fang yelled out to her as she kept walking away. She pretended to ignore him and just kept on walking.

He ran up to her and grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him.

She shivered, and Fang put the opened umbrella in her hand. She held onto it, holding it above the both of them.

"You want me to prove myself?" he whispered, and then cupped her face and bent down and placed his lips firmly on hers.

She was surprised, but her grip on the umbrella loosened, and eventually fell out of her hand. She gripped Fang's shirt, afraid that he'd let go of her, and pulled his closer to her. He pushed his lips further into hers, and they moved in sync.

And just like that, Fang pulled apart.

"I love you," he said, grinning like an idiot.

Max smiled up at him. "I love you too."

And just like that, Max was under the umbrella, and no longer left alone in the rain.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Hey you guys! Bubbles here! I really wanted to post up a one-shot, so I did :P Here you are. I know, it's super-duper cheesy and cliché and stuff, but I think I liked it. It was...kinda different, I guess?_

_I dunno. But please review and tell me your thoughts on it! I'd like to know what I can do to make one-shots better, or even, my writing in general better!_

_Thank you so much!_

_~Bubbles :D_


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